Jip. I used to recall how I easily shifted my day around however I wanted. Great. Now I have maybe, maybe, 30 minutes of flexibility. Maybe. Actually, comes to think of it, no I don’t.
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After dinner in the evening, the wife goes to take a shower, and I have 30 minutes of me-time. I usually spend practicing piano. Then she returns, all nice and flowery, and because spending time with your partner is important, we spend half an hour watching TV. Then it is bed time for the kids, and I will maybe do a little more work for an hour or so, but mostly… by that time the day is on its back.
Also, Chopin is exceptionally difficult. I thought I’d just say that out loud.
Not to make you guys negative, but when those kids become teanagers the bed time becomes later and they want to watch movies.
I’ll just say it is impossible to code when someone is watching a movie (especially if it is a good one).
Chopin and Debussy were my favourite. In matric I played only Chopin and Debussy save for one or two other composers.
But yeah, timing wise… after dinner, I normally try and keep my daughter occupied, who for walk or park, for 30 mins or so. Wife cleans up or gets some time for herself. Then it is bath-time, story-time, and fight-to-get-my-daugther-to-sleep-time. Then it is 21:00 or 21:30 if it was particularly difficult (she doesn’t like sleeping, but it is getting better). At that point, I am done. Maybe I read a few pages but typically I just fall asleep. 
So my wife and I decided that we want to watch the new James Bond movies. As Izak noted, time with one’s partner is important. And let me just say, watching James Bond effectively on mute but with subtitles is really at most just half the fun. Can’t remember when last I had the privilege of watching TV with a normal sound level…
I remember that time as well.
I found a 20m 3.5mm audio cable extention at Matrix Warehouse that I could plug into the TV to watch with the headphones. My TV is too old to have bluetooth, but these days that would also be a good option. (although the audio cable was way cheaper)
PS. If you want the kids to sleep easier just which off all the devices and lights (in the home, not just their room) and sit there in the dark. Works everytime - even the grownups will be asleep 
Apple Airpods pairs very easily with my Apple TV, so that is no issue, but isn’t very social if my wife and I want to watch and communicate during the movie…
See, that isn’t the problem. Everything is anyways off at that time. Except for a light in another room. Reason being my daughter recently decided to dislike the dark enough to cry until at least a light is on somewhere… It is getting better. “Everything is a phase” is one of the more important phrases someone once told me.
All you guys with the sweet little people, trust me, the best time is now. We are at “Wife, can we go to bed so the kids can go home?”
We figured, let’s have them early, then when we are still young, we can have our life back … it nearly worked. Sometimes they move back … jip, they do.
Gets worse … before it gets better.
Like your kid is out, driving themselves, and you have no idea where they are. Or that tracker you had installed, naaa, you don’t want to know. Trust me. Or that call you get at 2am … Daaaad, can you come and help please …
Sleeping soundly with kids, small or big, is a fallacy.
All the best to all of you. 
Ps. Our kids were like 5 days old, when they first went with us to Spur. They went everywhere with us, even our grandchild, where we go, she goes. She must sleep anywhere and everywhere. And quiet in the house, naaa, kids needed to adapt. It worked back then, and today. Our granddaughter, Oupa taught her that she likes cold milk. Like last night, the power is off, her Mom asked do we have something, they have not cooked yet. So Oupa and the little one had some cold mince, she liked it, but her Mom not so much. 
I don’t know how I even lived without subtitles. Maybe I’m just getting old, maybe movies are just totally overdoing the sound effects these days, but I literally watch everything with subtitles.
A good sound system does help. If the sound was done properly, then the dialog is on the center speaker, and the explosions are on the rest, but don’t count on it.
Then it is also very interesting to see the different sound levels. Britbox requires the amp to be set to -20dB, because their sound levels are quite low. Netflix needs about -30dB (any higher than that, and “badoom!” the whole neighbourhood knows), and YouTube needs about -45dB… because they decided that they too need a startup sound on the app, and everything is quite loud.
TV is configured to send the sound straight out the optical port with no volume control, so I know it’s down to the apps.
What’s wrong with people?
I never ever reheat any food, left overs straight out the fridge, perfect, whether pizza, braaivleis, vegies, whatever, guess I’m weird like that.
If I had a say in the matter, I wouldn’t even own a microwave.
If I had to live in a world were I could have only a car or a microwave I would have amazing legs from all the cycling I would be doing…
I gave up on surround sound years ago, I replaced my 7.2 channel Marantz with a good ol fashion NAD stereo amp and a Modi DAC and have never looked back!
Interesting…
A new project is looking at the role of informal settlements to push South Africa’s move to rooftop solar energy.
The idea is that government would equip structures in informal settlements with solar panels and give them the opportunity to sell power back to the grid.
David Everatt, professor of Urban Governance at the University of Witswatersrand, says that rather than only allowing wealthy elites to buy themselves out of the grid and make money selling energy back, this project would address inequality and the energy crisis.
I would support such a project.
I know it is over 2 days … but something “feels off”.
Stage 3: 16h00 - 18h30
Stage 4: 00:00 - 0230
Stage 2: 08:00 - 10:30
I count min of 6 hours, 7.5 if we get the full slot, of LS in 18 hours, cleverly “slipped” in.
That is my story and I’m sticking to it, ok!? 
That’s the part I have trouble with. They are pretty much switching at constant times. 5AM in the morning, and 10PM at night… and SOMETIMES at 4PM in the afternoon.
You’re saying they have their knife in for you, because they always throw in a extra 4PM change when you happen to have a slot that day? 
Yes, they do!!!
On Sunday, “they” told me LS was been suspended. I ran bets in the house, when are we going to hit LS today (Sunday)?
I won! We hit LS in the afternoon.
Man, I tell you, they are “gutting” me man … “knifing” me the rest of the time.
On a serious note though, if we did not have a solar investment, I would have been livid.
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South Africa, now officially a State of Disaster, democracy not….
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